JULY 2025
Dear Friends,
I hope that your summer is off to a good start!
I’m writing to share some updates on recent activities of the Society and Board of Directors, but before I do,
I want to draw a few items to your attention:
1. Annual Meeting Registration: Please make your plans to attend this year’s annual meeting in San
Diego. The Program Committee has put together an outstanding array of sessions as always! I am
especially excited to hear Peter Hotez from Baylor on Monday as he presents a session entitled,
"Because the Internet Said So: A Toolkit for Managing Misinformation in the Age of Social Media."
2. Annual Meeting dates: Every year, the Board and our colleagues at Degnon have to identify dates
and a location for the Annual Meeting. This always poses a challenge, as we balance many factors
including an attempt to avoid major religious observances, other organization’s meetings (e.g., the
AAP), and availability of affordable and inviting destinations and facilities. For 2025, this unfortunately
led to the meeting being scheduled such that the evening of the final day (Monday, September 22)
marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah. For this, I apologize on behalf of the Board. We have
undoubtedly had to make other decisions that have created conflicts for other religious or cultural
observances. The Board and our Degnon administrative team will continue to try to avoid such
conflicts in the future.
3. Vote for new Board of Director members, SDBP President and proposed Bylaws amendment:
Please remember to submit your vote— all current 'voting' members should have received emails
from SDBP with links to this year’s ballot. Please contact info@sdbp.org if you have not.
NEW INITIATIVES:
I would like to draw your attention to the many exciting initiatives—both ongoing and new—that the Board and
members have developed and started to implement this year. Here are some highlights:
1. Strategic Plan Initiatives: We engaged in a months-long effort to solicit ideas for new projects and
tactics, aligned with our strategic plan, using a “bottom up” process—these new initiatives primarily
came from discussions with members and leaders of our Committees/Sections/Special Interest
Groups. The Board then engaged in a thoughtful prioritization process. The result is summarized in
this strategic plan spreadsheet (working document). You will see that there are many outstanding,
ongoing efforts that will continue, along with new initiatives that are highlighted in the document.
2. SDBP Communications: SDBP Just the Facts: The Board has approved this new SDBP Communications Policy - which includes hiring a professional communications staff member to
coordinate our internal and external communications, as well as development of a new advocacy tool - SDBP Just the Facts (sample fact sheet template included). You will be hearing more about Just the
Facts at the fall meeting.
3. SDBP Grand Rounds: I hope that you have been able to take advantage of one or more of these new
sessions, designed to provide high-level, subspecialty perspectives on complex clinical care
approaches and issues. The sessions, coordinated by Bob Voigt, have been fantastic and will continue
as a regular SDBP offering. All recordings and additional session materials are housed under the
"Meetings/Events" tab, under SDBP Grand Rounds (member only access).
I hope to see many of you in San Diego and, as always, I and the Board would be happy to hear from you!
Happy Summer,
Bill
William J. Barbaresi, MD
President, SDBP
william.barbaresi@childrens.harvard.edu
